Photograph shows the newly completed 8,350-foot long runway at Kai Tak Airport, looking north-west from Kowloon Bay. In the middle distance is part of the Kowloon Peninsula, with the harbour and islands beyond
Photo by P.R.O., Hong Kong
NEW KAI TAK
TAK AIRPORT
On September 12th, 1958, a new sites in this area were rejected. The face of the seabed consisted of a lay- runway, comprising the first phase in search then moved closer to the har- er of soft mud which extended to an the development of a modern Inter- bour area, with the possibility of average depth of 40 feet. Another national Airport at Hong Kong, was levelling islands or reclaiming areas source of fill would be provided by opened by His Excellency the Gover- from the sea.
the demolition of a low spur of hills nor, Sir Robert Black.
At the beginning of 1953, the that obstructed the approach to the Hong Kong is gifted with a fine na- Government decided to investigate in landward end of the runway. tural harbour for shipping, but its detail a scheme for the construction A Project Report on the scheme. mountainous topography has present- of a new runway on a promontory of
was submitted to the Hong Kong ed considerable obstacles to the siting land to be reclaimed within the har: Government, who gave approval to of a modern airport.
bour area. The promontory would
extend out into the middle of Kow-
it in the summer of 1954. The scheme
The old airport, which had two loon Bay, and be linked at its land. includes a runway 8,350 feet long
ward end to a corner of the old air port.
Full-Scale Investigation
short runways of light construction,
and 200 feet wide, which is surfaced was half-encircled by mountains and
with asphalt and designed to carry the approaches were notoriously dif-
the loads of the largest jet airliners at ficult. During the post-war years a
present foreseen. There is a taxiway comprehensive search was made for A full engineering investigation was running the full length of the run- an alternative site. The only sizeable made of the site, and included over way, and these are sited on a promon- area of flat land lies in the north- 400 borings, mainly in the seabed, tory 795 feet wide which extends out west corner of the Colony, far from totalling about three miles in length. into Kowloon Bay for a distance of the centre of population, and is The average depth of water was over 1 miles, and involves reclama- heavily cultivated. For these reasons, found to be 24 feet, while the sur- tion of 163 acres of land.
The runway during course of construction
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